Totally Overwhelmed

by 7 on March 23, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina put on a show for its home-state fans in its first two NCAA tournament games. Now the overall No. 1 seed is off and running to the round of 16, where another comfortable setting awaits.

Wayne Ellington scored 20 points and the Tar Heels raced to a double-digit lead in the first 5 minutes of a 108-77 second-round win over Arkansas on Sunday, sending North Carolina to Charlotte for the East Regional semifinals.

Ty Lawson had 19 points and seven assists for the Tar Heels (34-2), who followed their first-round rout of Mount St. Mary’s with another impressive offensive display. North Carolina will face fourth-seeded Washington State on Thursday night in the same arena where they won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament last weekend.

The Tar Heels scored the first nine points, led 51-26 at halftime and shot 68 percent for the game. They became the first team to score 100 points in their first two NCAA games since Loyola Marymount did it against New Mexico State and Michigan in 1990. [read more]